Chapter 671

Inside the small courtyard, Lu Ran recounted many, many things.

Lu Yuan's emotions surged violently, affecting the surrounding environment and forcing Lu Ran's own mood to rise and fall in tandem.

Lu Ran returned the bamboo slip to Elder Lu without being reproached; Lu Yuan also understood clearly that his wife and daughter were living very well in the mortal world, and a rash disturbance would only add trouble.

It would merely increase sorrow.

"Elder Lu," Lu Ran comforted softly, "Grandma Wen and Auntie Lu are doing so well; we should feel happy for them."

Lu Yuan gazed at the photograph in his hand, his aged fingers tracing his wife's cheek: "Sect Master, please return; let this old man stay alone for a while."

Lu Ran opened his mouth, wanting to say, "Don't do anything foolish."

But the words on his lips changed into a different phrasing: "You will reunite eventually, Elder Lu; give me some more time."

Lu Yuan slowly raised his head and looked at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran's eyes were firm: "You, I, and everyone in our Ran Sect will return to the mortal world openly and honorably!

Standing under the sunlight, standing before our families.

Standing before the gods!"

Lu Yuan stared silently at Lu Ran for a long time, then silently nodded.

"After Jiang Ruyi learned of your fondness for calligraphy, she brought writing brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone from the mortal world; I will have someone deliver them later," Lu Ran said softly, turning to gaze at the mountain forest outside the courtyard.

He had noticed long ago that Qin Lady Yanzhi was waiting over there.

Both master and disciple lived here; it was just that while Lu Ran chatted privately with Master Lu, Qin Lady Yanzhi waited outside in the woods.

"Thank you, Sect Master and Lady, for your bestowal," Lu Yuan rose once more and said in a deep voice to the young man's retreating back.

Lu Ran turned his head, smiled at the gray-robed elder, and his figure flashed away, vanishing in an instant.

Under a large tree in the forest, Qin Lady Yanzhi immediately looked to his left: "Sect Master, I... you..."

"She accepted that small bamboo carving," Lu Ran said, patting Qin Lady Yanzhi's shoulder. "Hearing that you are safe and sound made her especially happy."

Qin Lady Yanzhi imagined Li Li Rouyin's joyful expression; his feelings were extremely complex.

There was some bitterness, yet also some delight.

"Li Rouyin is already a great expert of the Sea Realm, and moreover, she is the sole disciple of the Wangquanyi Sect; her growth speed is by no means slow," Lu Ran encouraged. "You are four or five years older than her; you must work hard."

Qin Lady Yanzhi nodded heavily.

"Do you wish to bind with the Yemo Yemo Xiesu, the Evil Mirror Demon?"

"Ah?" Qin Lady Yanzhi looked at the Sect Master, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "Has the Sect Master found a way for Wu Shang to tear up the contract?"

Lu Ran nodded: "Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang offered me some guidance."

Qin Lady Yanzhi immediately knelt on one knee, unwilling to delay even a moment longer: "I beg the Sect Master to bestow the stone statue upon this subordinate!"

Previously at Thousand Flower Ridge, the Sect Master and the Lady had made it very clear: binding with a stone statue could improve cultivation aptitude, and there was even a chance to seize a divine position!

Lu Ran vaguely sensed something and turned to look at the distant fenced courtyard, where he saw Elder Lu still standing, gazing in this direction.

"Mm," Lu Ran withdrew his gaze and lowered one hand.

"Whoosh!!"

The next moment, a huge illusory figure expanded within Lu Ran's body.

This illusory figure resembled a human woman, wearing a deep green low-cut long dress that exposed a large expanse of snow-white skin on her chest; her jet-black long hair was tied back, adorned with golden hair ornaments on her head.

Eyebrows like willow leaves, lips like cherries.

Eyes full of amusement, a smile full of mockery.

"Jin Zhiyuye" slowly bent down, extending a giant, slender jade hand to overlap with Lu Ran's palm, pressing it onto the top of Qin Lady Yanzhi's head.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Qin Lady Yanzhi widened his eyes slightly; one human and one statue signed the contract.

Lu Ran spoke again: "You are now a Successor, no longer a lowly human; you have the qualification to resist.

Come, let the Evil Mirror Demon and I protect you while we sever the threads of the master-servant contract."

"The threads of the master-servant contract?" Qin Lady Yanzhi looked up, but his head was held down by the Lord of Gods and Demons.

"Just follow the Evil Mirror Demon; we will guide you," Lu Ran said, and meanwhile, the Evil Mirror Demon's illusory giant hand had completely enveloped Qin Lady Yanzhi's head.

Lu Ran closed his eyes, perceiving carefully.

Qin Lady Yanzhi sensed the intent of the Yemo Yemo Xiesu, the Evil Mirror Demon, and immediately urged the divine power within his body to surge toward his head.

"Ugh!" Qin Lady Yanzhi suddenly let out a muffled groan.

He felt as if a tendon in his brain had snapped, causing him immense pain.

When disciples of the Ran Sect tore up the master-servant contract, they gathered divine power in the brain to smash the contract itself.

Qin Lady Yanzhi was different; it was more like severing the single thread connecting the god and the human, thereby rendering the master-servant contract invalid and causing it to dissipate completely.

"Ugh," Qin Lady Yanzhi trembled, his complexion looking very bad.

After a long while, a low voice imprinted itself into his mind: 【By the way, your brother is also in the Holy Spirit Mountain Realm.】

Qin Lady Yanzhi raised his head to look again.

Voice transmission?

Yes, it was the Sect Master's voice!

"Hoo~"

The charming little fairy quietly dispersed, vanishing into the gentle breeze.

Lu Ran withdrew his hand, looking at his subordinate, General God Qin: 【You can also use voice transmission; just pray in the manner you used to revere the gods.】

【I... my brother? This subordinate is an only child,】 Qin Lady Yanzhi tried to transmit his voice.

【Your wife's older brother,】 Lu Ran thought for a moment and used a more accurate term.

【Hao Tian?】 Qin Lady Yanzhi's face froze in shock.

He immediately recalled that fellow who had never shown him a good face and often obstructed him at every turn.

Lu Ran nodded lightly: "Li Li Rouyin entrusted me to help find him; let's make an effort."

As for Hao Tian's safety, Lu Ran was not overly worried, after all, the other party was a disciple of a Second-Rank God, Dong Ting!

In terms of speed, he stood supreme above all heroes.

On the contrary, Lu Ran felt very uneasy about Chang Ying; although Chang Ying was a believer of the Spirit Lots and possessed the ability to predict fortune and misfortune, still...

He hoped she could utilize this method to its utmost limit, smoothly seeking blessings and avoiding calamities until the Ran Sect found her.

"Yes!" Qin Lady Yanzhi bowed his head respectfully, responding to Lu Ran's earlier words.

"Comfort your master well." Lu Ran turned to look at the old man in the single-courtyard residence, nodded slightly in indication, and his figure flickered before vanishing.

When he appeared again, he had arrived at the Nightmare Dwelling.

He happened to see Deng Deng Yuxiang sitting before a stone table in the courtyard, drinking tea.

The residences of the Ran Sect's generals came from the same "construction team," with completely identical structures.

This gave Lu Ran the illusion that no matter where he went, he was returning home...

"You're here." Deng Deng Yuxiang picked up a bamboo cup and poured tea for Lu Ran.

"So you brought it; I forgot to remind you." Upon seeing the shape of the tea leaves, Lu Ran knew immediately that it was not the bitter Misty Rain Tea.

Deng Deng Yuxiang spoke softly: "No need for reminders; how would I dare not bring what my lord Gate Master likes?"

Lu Ran plopped down opposite the stone table: "You make it sound as if you know me so well; what I want you to bring, you might not actually have taken."

Deng Deng Yuxiang pushed the bamboo cup forward to Lu Ran's side of the table: "I brought it."

Lu Ran laughed: "What did you bring? Do you even know what I'm talking about?"

Deng Deng Yuxiang nodded lightly and repeated: "Brought it."

"Oh? So confident?" Lu Ran raised an eyebrow slightly.

Deng Deng Yuxiang reached one hand behind her head, lifted her long ponytail around to the front of her face, sniffed it lightly before her nose, then casually let go.

The meaning was obvious.

Lu Ran's hand holding the bamboo cup froze in mid-air, his eyes wide with shock as he looked at Deng Deng Yuxiang.

For real or fake?

"Hmph." Deng Deng Yuxiang swept a cold glance at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran awkwardly took a sip of tea; was he really that obvious?

Or was this seat just particularly easy to see through?

Deng Deng Yuxiang crossed her legs, her gaze drifting far away toward the mountain forest: "Figure it out yourself; I only brought a few bottles."

"Before they run out, if you haven't taken me back to kill our way into the Human Realm, you won't get to smell it anymore."

Lu Ran: "..."

Can't you just wash your hair a few times less?

"What kind of look is that?" Deng Deng Yuxiang looked at Lu Ran.

A sentence popped out of Lu Ran's mouth: "Just try to conserve it a bit."

Deng Deng Yuxiang immediately broke her composure (Po Le Gong), glared at Lu Ran with a smile, and softly uttered an "Mm."

"Brother Lu!"

"God Ran." The young couple walked out.

"Come!" Lu Ran directly extended his hand.

In an instant, a massive phantom expanded outward from within Lu Ran's body.

Clad in black helmet and black armor like an ancient general, with a beast-head belt around his waist, he held a Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand.

Beneath the pitch-black helmet was a face shrouded in swirling black mist, rendering his features indistinguishable, save for a pair of scarlet pupils releasing a terrifying radiance.

Majestic and imposing, yet also horrifying and shocking!

Deng Yutang immediately stood frozen in place, while Bai Bai Manni took a step back.

Deng Deng Yuxiang looked at her brother standing fixed in place and said in a cold voice: "The Gate Master is summoning you over."

"Oh." Deng Yutang forcibly suppressed the terror in his heart, stepped forward quickly, and grasped Lu Ran's hand.

Lu Ran: "..."

I activated the phantom of the Evil God·Ghost General just to run over and shake hands with you?

"Stop!" Lu Ran, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, spoke to halt them.

Apparently, a certain person was also very easy to figure out; Deng Deng Yuxiang was about to say something, but she swallowed her words back down.

Lu Ran stood up and raised his hand to press it against Deng Yutang's forehead.

The Evil God·Ghost General bent down and likewise pressed down that palm wreathed in black mist.

"I plan to send Young Master Deng to the Law Enforcement Hall; what do you think?" Lu Ran asked while forming a contract with Deng Yutang.

Deng Deng Yuxiang lifted her bamboo cup, pondering silently.

Letting her younger brother lead a team, manage people, and cultivate some authority was indeed an excellent arrangement, however...

Deng Deng Yuxiang sipped her tea and said indifferently: "Before he advances to the Stream Realm, let him stay here to guard the house for me, lest he go out and embarrass us."

Deng Yutang, who was still immersed in the joy of binding with the Yemo Yemo Xiesu, felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over him upon hearing these words.

Lu Ran comforted him: "Don't listen to your sister; she simply doesn't know how to speak properly! Your family of three has just arrived; she probably wants you to stay home more to accompany your wife and child and settle in."

Deng Yutang nodded silently.

Deng Deng Yuxiang: "..."

Lu Ran then looked at Bai Bai Manni: "The energy I stole from the Ghost Moon Fox clan is relatively small; currently, you can only employ Ghost Moon Fox Xie Fa below the Stream Realm."

"However, do not worry; I will go visit the main camp of the Ghost Moon Fox clan soon."

Bai Bai Manni hurriedly nodded: "Thank you, Sect Master Ran."

Another ethereal figure expanded from Lu Ran's body.

It was a fox, pure white from head to tail, with a graceful figure; it possessed a pair of ice-blue eyes, its fox pupils crescent-shaped, emitting a lustrous white glow like moonlight.

Additionally, seven long, snow-white fox tails spread out in the air behind it, swaying gently.

Lu Ran reached a hand toward Bai Bai Manni's forehead: "Our Ran Sect has another Elder who, just like your former self, is a devotee of the Curse Master; from now on, you two will be able to sense danger together and guard the Ran Sect."

As the sworn enemies of the Curse Master faction, the Ghost Moon Fox clan also possesses the ability to predict danger.

After the contract was sealed, Lu Ran added: "What a coincidence—he also bears the surname Bai; his name is Bai Yanhui."

"Huh?" Bai Bai Manni suddenly lifted her gaze to look at Lu Ran.

Weak individuals from the River Realm rarely dare to look directly at great experts from the Sea Realm.

"What is it?" Lu Ran asked, puzzled.

Bai Bai Manni stammered: "M-my... my grandfather's name was also Bai Yanhui; he went missing when my father was still young."

Lu Ran: "Huh??"

It's the beginning of the month; begging all you brothers and sisters for support with your monthly tickets!

(End of Chapter)